Ned stood with his broad shoulders held stiffly and his hands clasped in front of him. He resisted the urge to adjust the knot in his tie or run a hand over his hair. He hadn’t been this nervous since the first time he had gotten up the nerve to ask Alice for a date. On that occasion, her answer had been no. But today it would be different.
He looked out at the rows of faces, also eagerly waiting for the bride to appear. All the people he and Alice most loved in the world were seated in the Robertsons’ backyard.
The processional began. First came the bridesmaids, dressed in cornflower-blue with daisies woven in their hair. Alice’s best friend, Jenny Jenkins, walked down the grassy aisle, followed by Rachel. Then came Alice’s sisters, Laura and Nancy. The bridesmaids took up their positions opposite the groomsmen, Ned’s friends from college and law school. A hush fell over the gathering. Ned’s heart pounded as he heard the chords of the wedding march. A moment later, Alice appeared on the arm of her father, Charles.
There was a collective sigh of appreciation at the sight of the bride. Her long white dress was simple. Instead of a veil she wore a wreath of white flowers on her hair, and for a bouquet she carried an armful of lilies of the valley. The simplicity was an ideal foil for her perfect beauty. She had never looked more exquisite.
Ned’s eyes misted as Alice walked slowly down the aisle toward him. On her smiling face, he saw his own emotions mirrored. Alice was as profoundly happy as he.
She reached the first row of chairs. She kissed her father on the cheek and then released his arm in order to take the hand Ned extended to her. Side by side, they faced the judge, an old family friend of Alice’s father. As the judge spoke, reflecting on the meaning of marriage, Ned and Alice looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes. He squeezed her hand. She returned the pressure.
Finally, the moment came. It was time to exchange vows. For a while, Ned and Alice had considered composing their own wedding vows, but in the end they had decided that no words could be more beautiful and appropriate than those traditionally spoken. “Besides,” Alice had said to Ned, “they’re the words our parents spoke when they got married, and their parents before them. That makes them especially meaningful.”
Alice and Ned turned to face each other. Ned took both her hands in his.
“Do you, Alice Robertson, take Edward Wakefield to be your husband, to love and to cherish till death do you part?” the judge asked.
Alice’s blue-green eyes shone with love. “I do,” she said softly.
“And Ned, do you take Alice to be your wife, to love and to cherish till death do you part?”
“I do,” he said in a firm voice.
“Alice and Ned, I’m happy to pronounce you husband and wife!”
The judge gave Ned an encouraging nod. “Go ahead!”
Everyone waited breathlessly for Ned to kiss his bride. But Ned didn’t want to hurry through this moment, because it was the happiest moment of his life. He and Alice were finally married!
He squeezed her hands tightly. She smiled up at him, her eyes damp with tears of joy. “We did it!” she whispered.
Gently, Ned drew her to him. She lifted her face to his. They kissed tenderly.
Ned gripped Alice’s arm, holding her close to his side. He could feel her body against his, but as they walked up the aisle together he didn’t feel the ground beneath his feet. He could have sworn he was walking on air.
“It was a beautiful wedding, wasn’t it?” Alice said dreamily.
After changing from their wedding clothes into more casual travel outfits, she and Ned had met in the upstairs hallway of her parents’ house. Downstairs, the guests were waiting to see the bride and groom off on their honeymoon trip.
Putting down his suitcase, Ned wrapped his arms around his new wife. “It was,” he agreed. Suddenly, he remembered something. Not too many years before, Alice had nearly gone through with another wedding to another man. “Alice, have you ever regretted...?”
Alice looked up at Ned. “Not for a single minute,” she said, her voice soft but sure. “I started on a brand-new path when I turned my back on Hank Patman. And it led me straight to you.” She stood on tiptoe so their lips could meet in a light kiss. “Come on, let’s head down. They’re not going to leave, no matter how long we hide out up here. We’re still going to get nailed with rice!”
Alice took Ned’s hand. She rubbed her thumb across the backs of his fingers, then lifted up the hand to inspect it. “What’s this ring?” she asked curiously.
On Ned’s left hand was his new gold wedding band. But on his right, the one Alice was examining, he wore an old family ring. “My father gave it to me a few years ago. It’s been passed down since the days of Theodore Wakefield, my great-great-grandfather from England. That’s the Wakefield family crest. Today seemed like an appropriate day to wear it.”
“It’s beautiful, and unusual.” Alice peered at the intricate design. “Actually, now that I think about it, it looks a lot like...”
She bent to unzip the smaller of her two travel cases.
“Like what?”
“This.” Alice handed something to Ned.
It was a delicate, life-sized rose, carved from some kind of smooth, white wood. Ned had to admit that, with its tight cluster of petals, it did resemble a larger version of the rose on his ring. “This wooden rose has been handed down from generation to generation in my family,” Alice told Ned. “According to my mom, it belonged first to my great-great-grandmother, Alice Larson. A man she met on the boat from Europe gave it to her as a token of his love.”
Ned shook his head. “This rose is almost an exact copy of the one on my ring. What a coincidence!”
“Maybe it’s not a coincidence,” Alice speculated. “May-be—”
At that moment, Alice’s younger sister, Laura, appeared at the top of the stairs. “You guys had better hurry up. You’re going to miss your flight!”
Ned put an arm around Alice’s slim waist. Together, they walked down the stairs and outside to the waiting car decorated with streamers and Just Married banners. As they were showered with handfuls of rice and good-luck wishes, Ned turned to Alice. “Are you ready?”
She smiled up at him and nodded. She was ready. They were both ready to start the greatest adventure of their lives.
